Secret Life of Bees the 2002 written and Literature to Life Award and Book Sense: Book of the Year award winning novel by Sue Monk Kidd, is at many times slow and boring. When I finally got to watch the movie directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood released in 2008 felt as if it was a whole new story, not because the scene were completely different from the original book but because of the pacing, the overall setting and excitement it was packed with, unlike the book.
There was a lot of different things that the two had, which for a lot may not be enjoyable, but other people will find it entertaining because all the things that a movie has such as its faster and easier to comprehend factors. In a film you can add music, actions, and setting in one scene, while in a book you will need to add a really lengthy text to make a picture on the reader’s mind as well as in the movie which will be already done for you.
The Book is based around a teenage girl that is 14 years old in the South of the United States in the 1964 when the Civil Rights bill was passed. She accidentally killed her mother when she was four. When she reached 14 she wanted to find more about her mother so she went to Tiburon a nearby city that was written on the back of a picture her mother was in. When she got their she found out her mother lived in a honey house with some of the Boatwright sisters. At the end she stays and lives their.
In every movie we are going to see deleted or changed parts to satisfy the viewers comfort and time. You will probably see the most important parts on the film. In this movie there was only one noticeable main aspect that was originally on the book and is touched lightly, the issue is coming of age, I believe the movie was still good even if this happen because I will agree with the director, racism and discrimination is the main topic and another big topic will just not mix well on a less than 2 hour film. Many will disagree with this but I almost feel like the movie was better without this issues, or in other words less complex and slow.
My opinion on the characters are in between neutral and good because on the book they were not too complex or too simple which is pretty good, on the movie they were simpler but they got to the point faster and easier to understands. One thing they really surprised me in the movie is that the characters almost felt as if they once experienced this and that is really good because as in the book you can relate to many experiences that you have had in your own life.
Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) is really close to what I imagined because of the appearance and just the movement she did, the walking, the movement of the mouth, the smile, etc. As for August Boatwright (Queen Latifah) she really convinced me, August really looked and acted as a cool and kind individual like in the book, she was not as detailed in the movie but she was still deep as in the novel.
I think a bit too much of the plot was taken or changed; however, they still served a good and improved version of the book. A thing they changed was the ending; on the final chapter (14) Lily is reassured of her killing her mother with T. Ray. On the film instead Lily asked a different question which did not end as sad and depressing. I think a large portion of viewers will like this ending better. The way T. Ray found where Lily was a lot different than on the book and in my opinion it was not something that needed a change. Many unnecessary things that were told in the book were cut off in the scenes shown in the film.
Believe it or not I will definitely give this movie a 4.2 stars out of 5. I do believe the movie was better than the book. As I previously stated I think the setting and pacing were the 2 things that convinced me to make this decision. The characters were credible enough; the plot line was not really the same but was still really well formulated and definitely did the job. One small thing that bothered me was some parts that were kind of cut off which is not that big of a deal but I think it would of added some depth to the movie.
Snapshot: Lily the main character is dedicated to find more about her dead mother. She finds out her mother stayed in a honey house and she decides to also stay.
What works: Is entertaining, it is fast and gets to the point, and it gets the job done. It basically tells and sends that same message as the book.
What does not work: Plot line was cut and it felt somewhat dull and unfinished.
Daniel Montillla 
Daniel, your review is very good, you said many of the points that I noticed while I watched the movie, the personalities of the characters were similar as the ones that I imagine while I red the book. Something that I noticed in your review was that you spoiled the end of the movie saying who Lily finally lived with. Very good review with a precise description of your thoughts.
Hello Daniel, I really like your review.
I agree with you on some points you make in your review, such as the plot line being cut and causing the story to be somewhat dull. However, I believed that the book was richer and more engaging. The movie does do a good job at entertaining a more casual audience, but for the avid reader, I think it was disappointing. In my opinion, I would pick the book over the movie any day, but I can understand why you enjoyed the movie, because it is faster paced and concise; whereas the book wanders and slows at some points.
I think that your book review is detailed and it informs us about the book and the movie. I think you showed and talked about the book briefly but well enough to give us an idea about the book and the movie and how they are similar and different.